Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-09-18

copy pcrJatifn for the benefit OF any
one who may find himself the better or
the wiser after reading it "The cross
is hcxngonal in plan, and has six open
arches on buttressed piers, terminating
in crocheted pinnacles rising above q
pierced parapet. Over each arch is a
canopied niche. The roof is supported
by central pillar continued through it..
Fixing ogee buttresses from the angles
Of the structure meet the upper shaft,
and the whole ~ surrounded by an
open canopied tabernacle. finished with
a cross.
Those who are IMMERSED in architec-
turnl slang may realize the appearance
Of the Poultry Cross more simply by
piciuring to themselves the stone
fingers Of some giant hand arched
downward 81 as to touch the ground at
equal distances from each other, form
ing kind Of cage. The inches which
sprmount the arches are untenanted,
the SAINTS which ought to fill them
having been either taken ont or never
put in but the central pillar is adorned
with a wreath OF oyerfed angels with
deplorably dirty wings and head
dresses bearing n startling likeness 10
those flowing lawyers wigs which, like
charity, cover a multitude OF sins.
This singular monument is attributed
to the compulsory piety of certain
heterodox Earl of Salisbury who flour
ished in the time of Richard H., to-
ward the close of the fourteenth cen
fury, and who appears to have had the
impudence to suppose that his soul was
his own and that he had a right to think
as he pleased. For this offence he was
promptly "come down upon by the
spiritual jailers who were then using
St. Peters keys TO paddock the free
thought of mankind. The devout
churchmen sentenced him to do
penance for the crime Of daring to have
40 opinion of his own by building a
croes in the market place, and the re-
suit is still one Of the marvels of the
ancient city.
Only few minutes walk from the
Poultry Cross thu traveller encounters
another memorial of Salisbury's past.
more modern and less picturesque, but
possessing far deeper and higher in
terest for those who can appreciate IT..
just where the Avon is spanned by the
handsome bridge which connects Sails
bury with its suburb Of FishcrtOn An
ger thcIe stands close TO the waters
edge a small, plain building, with a
network Of black Cross-beams upon
its roughly plastered front, and a
tablet above It's doorway Bearing the
inscription "MGundrel Hall" On this
spot during the evil days Of that terri
bic persecution which has branded
Henry Wills bigoted daughter with
the uaGyiug stigma Of Bloody
Mary" an humble Wiltshire yeOman,
John Neundrcl by name. was burned
alive for the sin Of worshipping God
according TO his conscience, the place
of his punishment being fixed. with n
fondish refinement Of cruelty, on the
very brink of the river, that the sight
of TIE cool, clear waters ripping past
lis fCct rs the flames consumed him
might cmbittcr his dying agonios.
History has pas ed him lightly by, bnt
among al that "noble army OF mar
tyrs" VINO are tie pride OF English
legend not one has better deserved
the palm crown Of those that have been
faithful unto death than plain John
Maundrel Of Salisbury.
Nor las the old cathedral town failed
to add tie associations OF romance to
those Of history. The constant appear
ancc of Martin Chuzzlewit' in the
windows Of the local booksellers is
hardly needed to remind any ordinary
visitor that Salisbury and its enyirOns
have been made familiar 70 the thou
saIds who have never seen either by
the genius Of that great writer whose
works viii endure as long rs the clthe-
dral itself. Any one OF those quaint
old inns which We pass may be that 10
which John Wostlock held his famous
Giuner-party. ANY one OF these broad,
white, dusty roads that wind downward
toward the ancient city over the green
hills around itmay have seen Tom Pinch
aud his comrade, young Martin Chuz
zlewit, trampinG through the frosty
night on their way to the good cheer
provided for them by the hospitable
John. YOndcr place, where four roads
meets, with tall fnger-post stretching
its gaunt white arms above them like
skeleton goblin, must surely be the
very spot where the Salisbury. stage
picked up Tom Pinch himself on that
memorable night-journey to London
after he had taken his final leave of the
virtuous Mr.. Pecksniif Among the
many stalwart frames and rudy, jo-
vial faces that crowd the busy market
place every Tuesday morning one half
expects to see that Of brave Mark Tap
lev. striding brjskly along with his
rusty stick il his hand, in the first
stage of his celebrated search for the
long-desired opportunity of being pro-
perry ard adequately "jolly under diff
iiCuitiCs."
But the one principal feature that
gives to Salisbury its peculiar charac-
tOr-the central point which is to it
what the hremhn is to Moscow or the
Tai Nansl TO Agra-is undoubtedly its
grand old cathedral, one Of the many
architectural masterpieces which have
almost bribod posteiity to forgive the
countless errors OF the feeble and dis
astTous reign OF Henry III. Founded
in 1920, but not actually completed TIL
1858. it has preserved more of its Origi-
nai character than almost any other Of
the great medieval churches OF Eng
lan0. thanks both to the solid strength
OF its primary structure and to the
iudicious moderation Of the few
restoring touches which the lapse
Of time has rendered neces-
sry. The cathedral itself and
the spacious grounds attached tOit form
a kind Of citadel on one side of the
town, for the battlemented wall which
shuts them off from the latter on the
east and south is rs high aud massive
as that Of many a feudal stronghold,
and its shadowy archways OF antique
masonry are worthy of Windsor Castle
itself. The broad expanse Of the
"close, " fully half a square mile in eX-
tent, forms, with its smooth, green turf
and giant elms, one of those characte-
ristically English landscapes that Wash
inpton Irving would have loved to de-
scribe. Its picturesqueness is well set
off by the frame of old-fashiOned build
ings around il, among which no Eng
lish visitor will pass unnoticed the
quiet little house where Henry Faw-
cett's parents still live with their one
A